Assetto Corsa EVOhas officially entered Early Access on Steam as this will be KUNOS Simulazioni’s third racing simulator release. Slated to release this fall, Early Access will be broken down into six stages with six content drops available following each release. While version updates will be included in between, these staged releases will be major components to the game that will hit full release this Fall. Players can expect 100 vehicles, 15 circuits, a new free roaming mode, car customization, tuning and more at final release. Currently, the first Early Access provides more of an idea of what the vision ofAssetto Corsa EVOwill be and what the original release was striving to be while combining the best of both previous titles into one.
What is in Early Access as of Now?
The first stage of early access provides a good solid variety of twenty cars and five really good circuits to race on.The only option to play currently is single player with either AI or time trials.Players can experiment with varying weather conditions and time of day with time progression. These are nice options to have, but it will get old after a while. The AI in this game is relentless as in its current state, they’re questionable to race against. Part of this has to do with early collision physics, but cars coming from behind are constantly applying pressure and if the player is spun out, the AI seems unaware. It’s hard to consistently get a race done even though difficulty options are available. Players can setup different assists to help get acclimated to the different cars.
The UI is very muchAssetto Corsa Competizioneas players can also setup their cars pre-race.Tire compounds are limited to slicks or wet and no varying compounds. With these being slicks, it’s hard to determine how quick the grip falls off. Cars randomly seem to lose grip after about three laps and be fine after, even with tire and brake temperatures optimal. All of this will improve with time, and it can’t be stressed enough that this is very early access for this game. The most recent update has added some car customization with the Driver Academy coming up in the next update. This does offer VR support, but maybe having a RTX 4090 or a 5090 in a few days may be able to get this working properly. Fuji Speedway and two new cars will be coming in the first Content Drop, then five additional cars and Circuit of the Americas in the eventual 2nd Early Access release.
New Video Details Assetto Corsa EVO Early Access
On Christmas, developer KUNOS Simulazioni released over a six minute video with details involving Assetto Corsa EVO.
How Does the Driving Feel?
What players need to look for in this initial Early Access is car behavior across different platforms and classes of cars. Wet weather racing versus dry weather racing and how each car behaves will provide different experiences to be had. Striving to be the best racing simulation will require getting this aspect properly acclimated. This is the one title where players can experience the Ferrari 296 GTB for the first time and the sense of speed on a long straight such as the front stretch at Imola is scary. These cars are not glued to the track and wheel hop is a thing, much like it was inCompetizione.
This is the one title where players can experience the Ferrari 296 GTB for the first time, and the sense of speed on a long straight such as the front stretch at Imola is pretty scary.
Cars tend to have more understeer than anything, no matter the car. Force Feedback on a Fanatec CSL DD is a bit much at default settings and needs to be adjusted, but it also varies per car, although still sits on the heavy side.Racing with the Camaro ZL1 seems like the developers assumed this was pulled from NASCAR as the engine sounds like a stock car V8 and the car downshifts way too fast.The Porsche 911 GT3 car and the Mercedes-AMG GT2 car feel similar to what was in Competizione, but provided the best confidence in terms of grip and response on the track. Surprisingly, the Alpine EV that is in the game is a ton of fun and there’s an SUV from Alfa Romeo as well. The Mazda MX-5 ND Cup car (it’s a Miata) does a good job of providing fun through winding sections on circuits. What stands out on all of these cars the most is how the suspension works and how it’s felt. The variety that’s here is nice, especially when the best advice for the previous game was choosing just one car and getting good at it.
Who Should Purchase Early Access?
There have been complaints online about Assetto Corsa EVO in relation to bugs, content and no online. This is literally the first stage of Early Access for a game that won’t come out for at least nine months. While Early Access started at $40, it’s currently discounted on Steam by 20%. No, there isn’t a lot to do right now, and yes, there are a lot of issues that need to be ironed out. PC performance is one of those as stability and constant frame rates are in dire need of improvement. The best way to experience the game is with super sampling turned on towards performance.
No, there isn’t a lot to do right now, and yes, there are a lot of issues that need to be ironed out.
Players trying to do a full race in heavy rain are going to be hurting. The point is, those looking to support this game going forward and want to provide feedback and be part of this community will invest early.The state of this game currently will be nothing like what it will be at final release, outside of the cars and tracks that are here will be included.Continual updates will come so those who adopt Early Access can step away from the game and back to it as more content comes. If anyone is expecting a full game right now, Early Access won’t be for you. The list of drivable cars and circuits are below.
Early Access 1 – Vehicle Content
Early Access 1 – Track Content
Assetto Corsa EVO
